Norwich’s credit card may be the key to saving nearly a dozen teaching jobs.

On Monday, the City Council is expected to discuss approving a $525,000 municipal bond to cover four capital projects in the school district that are mandatory. If the city picks up the cost through bonding, the school district will be able to spend that amount of money instead on salaries for up to 11 teachers next year.

“Getting that will be critical. That’s why we’re not making any decisions until we know for sure,” Superintendent Abby Dolliver said on Wednesday. “It will be helpful if it goes through. Anything we can do to save jobs is important.”

A formal vote on the bond won’t occur until July 1.

Despite the help, school administrators say layoffs will “definitely” be part of the district’s solution to close a nearly $1.5 million budget shortfall next year.

Last week, aldermen adopted a $116.3 million 2013-14 budget, which includes $70.53 million for education. That’s $150,000 more than City Manager Alan Bergren recommended, but far below the $71.9 million allocation the Board of Education said it needed to absorb a 4 percent tuition hike from Norwich Free Academy.

With a Aa2 bond rating, city leaders are confident they’ll secure a low interest rate for the financing plan, to be paid off over the next seven years. Of the $525,000 total, $23,000 is tied to legal fees. “I believe it will pass,” Mayor Peter Nystrom said of the bond.

Between the bond and council budget allocation, the school district has received $652,000 in direct city aid to help cut into the deficit. The figure could have been as high as $802,000, but aldermen voted against giving the district $300,000 more instead of $150,000.

On Tuesday, the school board voted to delay an emergency budget meeting from June 18 until July 2, when administrators will have a clearer picture of its financial situation.

Jennifer Tyler, whose daughter Bella Grace is a fourth grader at Veterans’ Memorial Elementary School, said she’s worried about larger class sizes with the loss of more teachers.

“I’m very concerned,” she said. “My daughter, in just a couple of years, went from 16 people in her class to sometimes as high as 24, and it makes a big difference when you have that many kids.”